The sluggard says “There’s a lion outside and I will be devoured in the street”. Prov 23:13
Our mistrust of the future makes it hard to give up the past. -C. Palahniuk
What are you afraid of? We often hear people exhorting us to “get out of our comfort zone”. Why? Our natural inclination is to find and build a Comfort Zone. Who wants to be uncomfortable? Houses, air conditioning, good food, leather recliners – we all want comfort.
Afraid to move?
But, of course, little happens in a recliner. The world makes progress through action. People getting up and doing things. Creativity, innovation, Outside the Envelope – those are the engines of progress.
Now, we’re all for progress, as long as we can get it in our recliners…
For business owners, change is scary. We work hard to create a successful business, one that works. One that makes us comfortable. But Change is constant, and fast, in the world. And our business has to keep up. But we’re afraid, so what can we do?
At ActionCOACH, we define FEAR as False Expectations Appearing Real. That’s what the Proverbs quote is about – we’re afraid there are lions in the street, so we don’t venture out. But if we did, we’d find there aren’t lions out there – there are opportunities.
We need to shift our Comfort Zone thinking. We need to become comfortable with change – then we’ll be in our comfort zone when we are take charge of our own future. Dream, Design, Train and Lead are the key functions of the business owner and all of these attributes help us eliminate fear as we build the future we desire.
Change isn’t scary if we initiate it. As business owners, we have the opportunity to create our own future.
